Apparatus for handling radioactive materials



2,931,680 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING RADIOACTIVE IVIATERIALS Filed Aug. 3,1956 A. KASPAUL A ril 5, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 5, 1960 A. KASPAUL2,931,680

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS Filed Aug. 3, 1956 2Sheets-$heet 2 //Vl/E Jl 7 0 2,

. fiMQED )(ASPEUL.

ilnited States APPARATUS FOR HANDLING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS AlfredKaspaul, Veyrier-Geneva, Switzerland, assignor to Paul Vogel, Geneva,Switzerland This invention relates to remotely controlled apparatus forhandling radioactive materials.

Presently known and available is remotely controlled apparatus forhandling radioactive material comprising a connecting element carrying aworking instrument at one end thereof for grabbing the radioactivematerial, an actuating member at the other end thereof for actuatingsaid working instrument and a gripping means for holding i saidapparatus.

In using this apparatus, the working instrument contacts the radioactivematerials or the containers therefor or the working instrument isexposed to the radioactive materials and thus becomes radioactiveitself. Also, in many instances, the connecting element becomesradioactive, thereby requiring expensive and remote storage places andprocedures therefor. Since this apparatus is expensive and since thisapparatus is oftentimes used at various time periods and for varioushandling jobs, it is necessary to have at the disposal of the laboratoryor radioactive material handling facility many pieces of such handlingapparatus, thereby making for considerable expense.

The remotely controlled apparatus for handling radioactive materials ofthis invention comprises a device comprising a working instrumentdetachably connected to a connecting member which is in turn operativelyassociated with a handle member.

It is thus possible to provide the whole of a set of differentinstruments whilst having only a single handle available. It will beappreciated that the cost of said latter is of less importance, as asingle handle suffices for the equipment of a laboratory. It istherefore possible to provide a more refined construction of said handlefor the purpose of facilitating to the maximum the employment of saidapparatus. a

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus for handlingradioactive materials which is remotely controlled and comprises aworking instrument detachably connected to a connecting memberoperatively associated with a handle member.

Another object of this invention is to provide a remotely controlledapparatus for handling radioactive ma terials having in operativeassociation therewith at its handle and at its working instrumentportions, respectively, a radiation measuring instrument for detectingand measuring the strength of radioactive emanations from theradioactive material being handled.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description which is set forth by way of exampleonly and is not limiting in any way whatsoever.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic section of said apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a part for connecting the instrument to theconnecting element.

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines IIIIII and IVIV respectively ofFig. 1.

Fig. 5 to 7 refer to difierent working instruments.

atent 6 mat The apparatus shown in Figure 1 comprises a handle 1including the grip 2. Handle 1 has therethrough the longitudinallypositioned cylindrical bores 3 and 4 in which are fixedly secured therespective ends of the two tubes 5 and 6, as clearly shown in Figure 1.Detachably secured about the end of tube 5, by means of tightening screw9 is connecting member 8. The working instrument is in the shape of aspring clip 7 and is detachably secured to member 8 at one of its limbs,as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, by means of a screw member. Theother limb of spring clip 7 is actuated by a rod 10 slidably positionedin tube 5. A spring 11 is positioned in tube 5, as clearly shown inFigure 1, and bears, at one end, against a deformed part 12 thereof, andat the other end, against a sleeve 13 secured to the rod 10 in such amanner as to act on the latter so as to maintain it in its. extremeposition.

The end of the rod 10 which is in the part 1 is formed by a cylindricalpart 14. Said latter is applied against another cylindrical part 15 ofwhich a portion forms a rack and is in engagement with a toothed pinion16 which is secured to a transverse shaft 17 (Fig. 4). Said shaft turnsin two sleeves 18 forming bearings and partly engaged in a transversebore Au or the part 1. At each end of the shaft 17 is secured a wheel 19adapted to be actuated by the user. The outer face of the wheels 19 isconical and has radial grooves to avoid slipping of the finger of theuser on its faces. In fact the position of said wheels relatively to thehandle 2 is so provided that'the user can control the rotation of one ofthe wheels by the lateral edge of the thumb. The securing of the wheels19 to the shatt 17 may be ensured in dirterent ways, for example by aradial screw or by a resilient clamping element. "lhe sleeves 15 areheld in the transverse bore 20 solely by the wheels 19, so that afterremoval of these it is easy to dismantle the shaft 17 and the sleeves18.

The securing of the tubes 5 and 6 in the part 1 is obtained byderormation of the end of said part by means of two screws 21 and 22 asshown in Fig. 3. it will be seen that the part 1 is provided for thispurpose with a vertical notch 2.5, for increasing its pnablllty, saldnotch extending up to the rear portion of the part 1 so as to enable itto be secured to a metal plate 24 of the handle 2.

in the lower bore 4 of the part 1 is located a cylindrical part 25having a portion 26 in the form of a trigger. Said part is sub ected tothe action of a spring 2/ located in the bore 4 and bearing against aplug 25. The front portion of the part 25 is curved and rorms a forkbetween the limbs of which can engage a part 29 Iormmg the end or a rodin sliding in the time 0. inc end or said tube may carry variousoperating instruments, par ticularly that hereinafter descrlbed withreference to mg. 7.

An instrument 31 for measuring radio-active radiations is provided inthe handle 2 so as to enable the user to control, at any instant, theradio-active held to which it is sub ected. ductor sensitive toradio-active radiations, a source of current constituted by a pile and agalvanometer said three elements being connected in series. Theinstrument may be provided with an electrical connection enabllngconnection of the pile and the galvanometer to an outer cell sensitiveto radio-active radiations. This cell may, for example, be placed on oneof the tubes 5 or 6 by means of an elastic clip for measuring theradioactive field at a point nearer to the source than the handle duringmanipulation. Preferably the instrument is provided with two dialslocated on one of the main sides opposed to the handle, so as to permitof easy read- Sard instrument contains a semi-con- 3 ing even when theuser holds the handle in the left or right hand.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a working instrument formed by a spring clip 7, whichcan be inclined more or less relatively to the connecting part 8. One ofthe limbs of said clip is secured to apart 32 which is hinged on theconnecting part 8. Said part 32 carries a sector 33 of an edge toothedwheel, said sector being in engagement with a pinion 34 carried by theend of the sliding rod 10. When causing the latter to turn in the tube5, the user can modify the inclination of the clamp 7 relatively to thetube 5 and by moving the rod 10 axially in the tube 5, he can producethe closing of the clamp by the action of the end of the rod on the freelimb of said clamp. In this case the end of the tube 5 which is securedin the part 1 should be introduced sufi'iciently deeply into this sothat the terminal part 14 of the rod 10 projects from the rear of thebore 3 and can be actuated directly by the user, the rack 15 beingnaturally removed. In this case, the axial movements of the rod can beproduced by the action of the thumb of the hand which holds the handle2, said thumb bearing against the rear face of the terminal part 14.

According to the type of. working instrument used, it is more practicalto control its actuation by producing the axial movement of the rod 10directly by pressure with the thumb on the rear part thereof. it ispossible to obtain the same result in the case of Fig. 1, by pressingwith the thumb against the rear face of the rack 15. For reducing theinertia of said part in motion, it may be advantageous to remove thewheels 19 and the shaft 17 of the handle. However, when the axialmovement of the rod 10 is to be capable of adjustment with greatprecision, it is more convenient to actuate it through the medium of thewheels 19, the pinion 16 and the rack. Said precise control isparticularly useful when the operating instrument is formed by a pipettefor sucking up liquids, the aspiration of the liquid in the pipettebeing effected by means of a piston secured to the end of the rod 10.

Fig. 7 shows another form of construction of a clamp adapted to beactuated by a pull of the sliding rod. Said clamp may advantageously besecured to the end of the tube 6 (Fig. 1) containing the rod 30 actuatedby the part 26 in the form of a tumbler. The end of the rod 30 has apart 35 bearing against two fingers 36 secured to two movable jaws 37.Springs, not shown, are provided for maintaining said jaws 37 spacedfrom one another. It will be seen that a pull on the rod 30 results intightening the jaws 37 against one another and said clamp may be usedeffectively for moving flasks containing radio-active materials. Thehandle may carry, at the same time as said clamp, another instrumentsecured to the end of the tube 5, for example a pipette, so that theoperator can, without the necessity of changing the instrument, move theflasks and effect the transfer of their liquids.

I claim:

1. Remotely controlled apparatus for handling radioactive materials,comprising in combination, a handle member including a hand grippingmember, said handle member having a first longitudinally positioned boretherethrough, a first tubular member positioned, at at least one endthereof, in said first bore and projecting from said bore, a first rodmember slideably positioned in said first tubular member and projectingfrom said first tubular member at the end thereof away from said handlemember, a sleeve member slidably positioned in said first tubular memberat one end thereof, said sleeve member being positioned about andfixedly secured to said first rod member, a shoulder member projectinginwardly from the inner wall of said first tubular member at the otherend thereof away from said handle member, spring means positioned insaid first tubular member and about said first rod member and betweensaid shoulder and said sleeve member for urging said first rod membertowards said handle, a connecting member detachably secured to and aboutsaid first tubular member at the end thereof away from said handlemember, a first radioactive material holding working instrument memberpositioned in and detachably secured to said connecting member at oneportion thereof and operatively associated with said first slideablypositioned rod at the end thereof at another portion thereof, means forcausing said first rod to slide in said first tubular member bothagainst and away from said other portion of said first workinginstrument, said means being operatively associated with said handlemember, said handle member having a second longitudinally positionedbore therethrough, said second bore having its longitudinal axisparallel to the longitudinal axis of said first bore, said first andsecond bores being spaced from each other, a second tubular memberpositioned, at at least one end thereof, in said second bore andprojecting from said second bore, a second rod member slideablypositioned in said second tubular member and projecting from said secondtubular member at the end thereof away from said handle member, meansfor tightening said first and second tubular member in each of saidbores, respectively, a cylindrical member positioned in said secondbore, spring means for urging said cylindrical member away from saidhandle, said spring means being positioned in said second bore andabutting one end of said cylindrical member, thereby rendering saidcylindrical member spring-loaded, said cylindrical member beingoperatively attached to said second rod at its other end thereof withsaid second bore, a, trigger means operatively connected to saidcylindrical member for actuating said spring-loaded cylindrical memberand said second rod attached to said cylindrical member, whereby saidsecond rod is caused to move in said second tubular member and saidsecond bore, and a second radioactive material holding workinginstrument member operatively associated with and detachably secured tosaid second rod at the end thereof projecting from said second tubularmember, whereby each of said working instrument members may be each.remotely manipulated and may be each replaced by another workinginstrument member.

2. Remotely controlled apparatus for handling radioactive materials,comprising, in combination, a handle member including a hand grippingmember, said handle having at least one longitudinally positioned boretherethrough, a tubular member positioned, at at least one end thereof,in said bore and projecting from said bore, a rod member slidablypositioned in said tubular member and projecting from said tubularmember at the end thereof away from said handle member, a sleeve memberslidably positioned in said tubular member at one end thereof, saidsleeve member being positioned about and fixedly secured to said rodmember, a shoulder member projecting inwardly from the inner wall ofsaid tubular member at the other end thereof away from said handlemember, spring means positioned in said tubular member and about saidrod member and between said shoulder and said sleeve member for urgingsaid rod member towards said handle, means for tightening said tubularmember in said bore, a connecting member detachably secured to and aboutsaid tubular member at the end thereof away from said handle member, aradioactive material holding working instrument member positioned in anddetachably secured to said connecting member at one portion thereof andoperatively associated with said slideably positioned rod at the endthereof at another portion thereof, said handle having another boretherethrough, the axis of said other bore being on a plane perpendicularto the plane of the axis of said longitudinally positioned bore, twospaced sleeve members positioned in said other bore at each respectiveend portion thereof, a shaft member positioned in said other bore andsaid sleeve members having the ends thereof projecting from said boreand through each of the respective sleeve members, a pinion memberfixedly secured on a portion of said shaft between said sleeve members,a rack member operatively attached to said slideably positioned rodmember within said longitudinally positioned bore, said rack memberprojecting out of said longitudinally positioned bore at the rear end ofsaid handle, said pinion member being in mesh with said rack member, andwheel members each fixedly secured to said shaft member at therespective ends thereof from said other bore and through the respectivesleeve members, each of said wheel members having a radially flutedface, whereby said working instrument member may be alternately remotelymanipulated by actuating said wheel members and by manually actuatingsaid rack member at its projecting end and whereby said workinginstrument member may be replaced by another working instrument member.

3. Remotely controlled apparatus for handling radioactive materials,comprising, in combination, a handle member including a hand grippingmember, said handle member having at least one longitudinally positionedbore therethrough, a tubular member positioned, at at least one endthereof, in said bore and projecting from said bore, a rod memberslideably positioned in said tubular member and projecting from saidtubular member at one end thereof away from said handle member, a sleevemember slidably positioned in said tubular member at one end thereof,said sleeve member being positioned about and fixedly secured to saidrod member, a shoulder member projecting inwardly from the inner wall ofsaid tubular member at other end thereof away from said handle member,spring means positioned in said tubular member and about said rod memberand between said shoulder and said sleeve member for urging said rodmember towards said handle, thereby to render said rod spring-loaded, arod-manipulating member rotatably and slideably positioned in said boreand projecting from said bore at the end thereof opposite to the end atwhich said tubular member projects from said bore, said rod manipulatingmember being operatively connected to said slideably positioned rod atthe end thereof within said bore, means for tightening said tubularmember in said bore, a connecting member detachably secured to and aboutsaid tubular member at the end thereof away from said handle member,said connecting member having at its end portion away from theprojecting portion of said spring-loaded slideably positioned rod andtherewithin a socket-shaped portion, said slideably positionedspring-loaded rod having a pinion member fixedly secured thereto at itsend projecting portion, a ball member operatively associated with saidsocket-shaped portion, a sector member operatively associated with saidball member, said sector member having a toothed portion in mesh withsaid pinion member, a spring-clip radioactive material holding memberpositioned in said connecting member, said spring-clip member having atleast two limbs, at least one of said limbs being detachably secured tosaid ball member and at least another of said springclip member being inoperative and movable association with the end of said slideablypositioned rod member, whereby said holding member may be simultaneouslyremotely manipulated angularly and longitudinally.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,127,948 Wappler Feb. 9, 1915 1,457,198 Utley May 29, 1923 1,501,965Moors July 22, 1924 1,967,731 Ackerson July 24, 1934 2,004,559 Wappleret al. June 11, 1935 2,077,268 Schaefer Apr. 13, 1937 2,090,923 WapplerAug. 24, 1937 2,199,223 Hastings Apr. 30, 1940 2,374,582 Caldarelli Apr.24, 1945 2,518,994 Miller Aug. 15, 1950 2,595,134 Gordon Apr. 29, 19522,613,100 Casey Oct. 7, 1952 2,688,510 Heyser Sept. 7, 1954 2,759,758Yancey Aug. 21, 1956 2,768,855 Cohen et al Oct. 30, 1956 2,819,110Redmon Jan. 7, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 116,823 Austria Mar. 10. 1930767,414 France May 1, 1934

